Brave New World Study Guide

What is the World State's motto?

Community, Identity, Stability

How does the physical description of the Hatchery create an ominous mood?

It is cold, clinical, and machine-like, foreshadowing the dehumanization in society.

How do students treat the Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning?

With great reverence and obedience.

Why must students only have a general idea of the hatchery's workings?

To prevent them from questioning or challenging the system.

What is "the operation undergone for the good of Society"?

Surgical sterilization to control reproduction.

What is Bokanovsky's Process?

A cloning process that produces up to 96 embryos from one egg.

What is Podsnap’s Technique?

A method to speed up the maturation of eggs to increase production.

How do the Director and Foster react to Singapore’s better results?

With competitiveness and pride, revealing nationalistic undertones.

What is the Director and Mr. Foster’s attitude toward individuality and death?

They dismiss individuality and view death clinically, without emotion.

What is a "freemartin"?

A sterilized female, made infertile for social stability.

What part of his job does Foster enjoy most?

Discussing technical details and procedures with excitement.

What are Epsilons, and what problem exists with them?

The lowest caste; scientists can’t fully decant them without issues.

What is the aim of all social conditioning?

To make people love their predetermined roles in society.

Describe the conditioning in the nursery.

Babies are shocked and frightened to associate fear with books and nature.

Why are lower castes taught to hate nature but love the country?

So they travel (for economic reasons) but remain productive.

Why does the word “parent” disturb the students?

Because natural reproduction is seen as shameful and obsolete.

Why is Henry Ford revered?

For his assembly line model, which inspired society’s structure.

What is the Beta children’s Elementary Class Consciousness lesson?

They’re taught to feel superior to lower castes and inferior to Alphas.

What metaphor does the narrator use for hypnopaedia?

“Drops of liquid sealing in suggestions”—implying permanent imprinting.

What is the World State’s view of leisure and recreation?

All activities must be communal, expensive, and approved.

How do adults respond to erotic play?

They approve; it’s encouraged for social stability and early sexualization.

Who is Mustapha Mond?

A World Controller who balances truth and happiness through control.

What is the narrator’s view of Mond?

Respectful but critical of his power and role in censorship.

What rumors make the Director uneasy about Mond?

That he once did forbidden research, implying hypocrisy.

Who is Bernard Marx?

An Alpha who feels alienated due to his short stature and thinking.

How is chapter three structured?

It jumps between characters and settings to show contrasts in thought.

How does Mond describe families and homes?

As dirty, smelly, and full of emotional tension.

Why is Lenina prescribed a Pregnancy Substitute?

To simulate hormonal effects of pregnancy after age 21.

What motto fights exclusiveness?

Everyone belongs to everyone else.

What does Lenina think of her relationship with Foster?

She likes him but worries about being too monogamous.

Why does the World State value stability?

Past societies failed because of emotional and social instability.

What do Fanny and Lenina think of promiscuity?

They view it as healthy and socially responsible.

Why does Lenina like Bernard, and why is Fanny worried?

He’s different, but Fanny sees that as a threat to social norms.

What has made life easier, according to Mond?

Elimination of pain, emotion, and free choice.

What happened in A.F. 141?

The Nine Years' War led to the creation of the World State.

Who were the Simple Lifers?

Rebels who rejected technology and were suppressed.

What is a Malthusian belt?

A contraceptive device all women wear.

Why were museums closed and books banned?

To eliminate connections to the past and promote a new order.

What values did Christianity oppose?

Sacrifice and love contradicted the World State’s pleasure-based control.

What is soma, and why is it provided?

A drug that ensures happiness and compliance.

What makes Bernard uncomfortable about the way Lenina talks about their plans to visit New Mexico?

She talks casually in public, which embarrasses him and highlights his insecurity.

Identify the two animal references that describe members of the lower castes.

They are compared to insects and apes, showing how dehumanized they are.

What contributes to Bernard’s status as an outsider?

His small size for an Alpha and his critical thinking.

Who is Helmholtz Watson and what does he do?

An Alpha lecturer and writer who feels creatively stifled.

Why are Helmholtz and Bernard friends?

They both feel isolated and different from the rest of society.

How are Helmholtz and Bernard different regarding women?

Helmholtz is successful with women but dissatisfied; Bernard is insecure and awkward.

What feeling has Helmholtz been having lately in chapter 4?

He feels he has something powerful to say but lacks the words.

How are citizens useful even after death, according to Henry?

Their bodies are used for phosphorus recovery.

What’s the significance of Westminster Abbey being a cabaret?

It shows the society’s disregard for religion and tradition.

What does it mean that Henry and Lenina are "bottled" when leaving?

It implies they are processed products of the State.

What is the purpose of Solidarity Services?

To unify people emotionally through ritual and soma.

How does Bernard feel about the solidarity services?

He feels out of place and disconnected, unlike everyone else.

Why do Bernard and Lenina have trouble getting along?

Their values and expectations about relationships differ.

Why is Lenina still seeing Bernard?

She’s curious and feels obligated after inviting him.

Why does the Director call the Bloomsbury Centre a 'hive of industry'?

It suggests efficiency and uniformity; the Director values productivity above individuality.

Why does the Director intend to make a public example of Bernard?

To punish his unorthodoxy and discourage others from deviating from norms.

What charges does the Director make against Bernard?

He accuses Bernard of being an enemy of Society by promoting individuality.

What punishment does the Director propose for Bernard?

Exile to Iceland.

How does Bernard use Linda and John to save himself?

He exposes the Director’s past by presenting John as his son.

Why are citizens interested in John but not Linda?

John is novel and fits a romanticized savage image; Linda is old and unpleasant.

How does Linda react to civilization? How is she treated?

She retreats into soma; Dr. Shaw uses her as an experiment.

How does Bernard benefit from people’s interest in John?

He gains popularity and social status.

What does Bernard tell Helmholtz about women? Why is it hypocritical?

He brags about attention from women, though he used to criticize that behavior.

How does Bernard’s success affect him?

He becomes arrogant and careless, angering Mustapha Mond.

How has John's view of 'O brave new world' changed?

It shifts from hope to sarcasm as he sees society’s emptiness.

What is the 'feely' Lenina takes John to?

A sexually stimulating movie that disgusts John.

Why is Lenina frustrated with John?

He avoids physical intimacy, confusing and upsetting her.

How does John humiliate Bernard at the party?

He refuses to appear, embarrassing Bernard in front of his guests.

Why won’t Mustapha Mond publish 'A New Theory of Biology'?

It challenges stability; he censors it to preserve order.

Why is Bernard both grateful and resentful after the party failure?

He appreciates support but feels overshadowed by Helmholtz and John.

What did Helmholtz do to get in trouble?

He wrote an emotional poem about solitude.

What do Helmholtz and John have in common?

They both feel alienated and seek deeper meaning.

Why does Helmholtz laugh at Romeo and Juliet?

He finds the emotional conflict absurd in their society.

What does Helmholtz realize about good writing?

It needs conflict, emotion, and truth—lacking in the World State.

What advice does Fanny give Lenina about John?

To seduce him and not wait for traditional courtship.

Why didn’t John approach Lenina sooner?

He was shy and believed in romantic ideals.

How has Shakespeare shaped John's views on love?

It makes him value purity, love, and marriage.

In Chapter 14, what has happened to Linda, and where is she?

She is dying in a hospital from excessive soma use.

Why do the hospital patients disturb John?

They lack individuality and emotion, making death meaningless.

Why are children brought to the hospital?

To desensitize them to death.

What does John compare the twins to?

Magots or swarming insects, showing his disgust.

How does 'O brave new world' change again for John?

It becomes completely ironic and bitter.

Why does John interrupt the soma distribution?

He believes it enslaves people and wants to free them.

How do the Deltas react to John's protest?

They begin rioting.

Why doesn't Bernard help John and Helmholtz?

He is afraid and lacks conviction.

What do the police use to stop the riot?

Soma vapor and calming voices.

Why is Shakespeare banned in the World State?

It contains emotional depth and moral conflict, which threatens stability.

Why can’t World State writers create great works?

They lack real emotion and conflict.

Why not populate society with only Alphas?

It caused disaster in the Cyprus experiment—too much independence.

What was the Cyprus experiment?

A failed test of an all-Alpha society that ended in civil war.

Why reject shorter workdays for lower castes?

Idleness leads to instability; work keeps them docile.

What does Mond reveal about his past?

He was once a scientist but chose power over exile.

How does Bernard react to being exiled?

He panics and begs for mercy, revealing his cowardice.

Why is exile to an island actually a reward?

It allows freedom of thought among others like them.

Where does Helmholtz ask to be sent?

The Falkland Islands, for solitude and inspiration.

Why doesn’t Mond let John go with them?

He wants to continue studying John as an experiment.

What does John enjoy about life at the lighthouse?

Solitude, nature, and self-discipline.

What ruins John’s solitude?

Crowds and reporters invade his privacy.

Why does John whip himself?

To punish his desires and stay pure.